'Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes' Review: Netflix delivers a Norwegian gem
Netflix is home to some of the well-crafted international projects and it keeps on expanding its catalog by adding new titles almost every week. The streaming platform has added one more show to its growing list of international projects and the name of the series is ‘Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes’.
It joins the elite list of projects like 'Lupin', 'Dark' and 'Dark Desire' that have garnered universal acclaim. The Norwegian show revolves around a young woman named Live Hallangen (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen) who suddenly wakes up after being declared dead. However, things are pretty different now because she has changed a lot and that’s something that she should adjust to. The premise of the series is so intriguing that it will almost compel you to see the show. But, is the show worth seeing? The answer to that question is HELL YEAH!!!!
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Meet the full cast for Netflix's Norwegian show Post Mortem No One Dies in Skarnes
The series opens with a dead body of a young woman and she is found in the middle of a field near a small town in Norway. The body is taken to the hospital where doctors try to conduct an autopsy. To everyone’s horror, the girl opens her eyes and wakes up on the autopsy table with a scalpel literally stuck deep inside her ribcage. Doctors say that she is absolutely fine and can be discharged.
Live starts spending her time normally and even gets a job as a nurse in-home care. However, things change after she attempts to draw a blood sample for testing and her mind gets filled with urges that are hard to control. A few drops of blood fall on her dress and she goes to the bathroom to calm herself. She sucks the splashes of blood from her dress and that’s the only thing that was able to make her feel calm. Apart from that, drinking blood also made her skin and eyes glow.
This is what happens for the majority of the show. She tries to live a normal life in these extraordinary circumstances and tries to keep everything secret.
‘Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes’ is actually the best Norwegian series to come out in recent history. The only other Norwegian shows that managed to captivate the minds of viewers were ‘Ragnarok’ and ‘Home for Christmas’. The latter one was a quirky show about the people of a town where everyone knows each other. Meanwhile, ‘Ragnarok’ was one of the shows that made a splash on Netflix and became one of the most-watched international shows on the streaming giant.
However, the latest series from Norway is much different than the aforementioned titles. The show is engaging from the very first scene and almost all the episodes end on massive cliffhangers. But you’ll soon realize that it is not an ordinary show, it is basically an alternative vampire story. The lead character doesn’t have large sharp teeth or doesn’t shine in broad daylight, but she is always thirsty for blood. The interesting part of the show is that she wants to end this. Of course, no one wants to get up one day and know he or she is a vampire and will need to drink blood if they want to survive. So, Live’s journey on the show is how to control the urge of drinking blood and her dangerous nature.
She sacrifices other people’s lives for her own survival and also helps her family's funeral business because “no one dies in Skarnes.”
Some might think that the storyline is too weird to watch, but that’s exactly where the show’s strength lies. Screenwriters Peter Holmsen, Sofia Lersol Lund, and Rune Stalen have done stupendous work in stitching a story that takes the viewers on a thrilling journey. At the same time, it is filled with humor and emotional moments as well. The humor content in the series is subtle and is something that was really needed.
As far as the acting is concerned, Johansen is undoubtedly the standout performer and deserves much wider recognition for her work internationally as well. The Netflix series will help in sky-rocketing her fame and we might see her in lead roles from now on. Another actor who will take your breath away is Kim Fairchild, who plays the police officer named Judith. Her facial expressions alone will crack you up and her acting skills will impress you. She is genuinely a fabulous talent.
Elias Holmen Sorensen is equally amazing as Odd. Overall, the Norwegian show is another great addition to Netflix’s international catalog and it is undoubtedly one of the top 5 shows I have seen this year. Maybe, even top 3. ‘Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes’ is a new take on a classic vampire story and manages to answer some questions you had during the course of the entire project.
It is one of the shows that people would want to see another season of and Netflix should definitely bring this “Norwegian gem” for another run.
‘Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes’ is streaming on Netflix.